Mauricio Pochettino refuses to blame Hugo Lloris for Tottenham collapse but captain’s form is major concern

To make the same mistake twice in three weeks suggests something fundamentally wrong with Lloris’ judgement right now. Either his judgement is going, or he has lost pace and has not adjusted to it, or both

Hugo Lloris receives his marching orders (EPA)

Mauricio Pochettino was insistent afterwards. Hugo Lloris would not be blamed for his game-changing mistake. And he would not be expected to apologise either. There would be no finger-pointing, internally or externally, about the details of the 2-2 draw with PSV. If anyone has to be the scapegoat, Pochettino is happy to be that man himself.

“I am not going to blame any player,” Pochettino said. “If someone wants to blame a person, it's myself to blame because I am responsible for the team. Blame me, not the players.”

Pochettino told a story from the start of his career about how a manager told him that players never need to apologise for their mistakes, because ultimately the players are the ones taking the risks with their actions. Managers sat in the dug-out can never make a mistake in the same way. So there is a different standard for accountability and blame. “If I am sitting here, sitting in the dugout, it's difficult to make a mistake,” Pochettino said. “Football is about making mistakes.”

And yet despite all of that, it was impossible to think in the aftermath of this game that Pochettino could have been satisfied with the performance of Lloris. Because it was his miscalculation, charging out at Chucky Lozano, fouling him and getting sent off, that turned the game. If he had been quicker off his line and won the ball it would have been astute goalkeeping. If he had stayed on his line he would have stayed on the pitch. But to come out and not get it was the ultimate blunder.

Hugo Lloris was sent off after 79 minutes (Getty)

Even worse was the fact that three weeks ago Lloris made a similar mistake. When Spurs hosted Barcelona at Wembley there was just one minute gone when Lloris charged out to block Jordi Alba, racing onto Lionel Messi’s brilliant through pass. He arrived at Alba far too late, and it was far too simple for Alba to roll the ball to Philippe Coutinho who finished. Pochettino, while not naming Lloris, was furious at how Spurs had sabotaged their own game plans by conceding so quickly.

To make the same mistake twice suggests something fundamentally wrong with Lloris’ judgement in these situations right now. Either his judgement is going, or he has lost pace and has not adjusted to it, or both.

Either way, it is a serious problem for a Tottenham team who like to defend so high up the pitch. The whole Pochettino philosophy means keeping a high line, and leaving plenty of space in behind. That is a big risk and it requires a keeper who can sweep up anything in that space. If Lloris is no longer quick and reliable off his line then either Pochettino needs to change – which is a non-starter – or they need to find a goalkeeper who can.

It has obviously been a difficult few months for Lloris. The emotional high of winning the World Cup, the emotional low of his humiliating and shaming drink-drive conviction, and then five weeks out with a muscle injury which Pochettino believes was connected with that conviction. He is not looking anywhere near himself and if suddenly one of the best players of the Pochettino era is becoming more of a problem than a solution. He needs to get that old reliability and judgement back or the questions, and the calls for blame, will grow even more intense.